God who madest earth and heaven,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Who the day and night hast given,
Sun and moon and starry host,
Thou whose mighty hand sustains
Earth and all that she contains:
2 Praise to Thee my soul shall render, Who this night hast guarded me;
My omnipotent Defender,
Who from ill dost set me free:
Free from danger, anguish, woe
Free from the infernal Foe.
3 Let the night of my transgression With nights darkness pass away: Jesus, into Thy possession
I resign myself to-day.
In Thy wounds I find relief
From my greatest sin and grief.
4 Grant that I may rise this morning From the lethargy of sin:
So my soul, through Thy adorning,
Shall be glorious within;
And I at the judgment day
Shall not be a cast-away.
5 Let my life and conversation
Be directed by Thy Word;
Lord, Thy constant preservation
To Thine erring child afford.
Nowhere but alone in Thee
From all harm can I be free.
6 Wholly to Thy blest protection
I commit my heart and mind.
Mighty God! to Thy direction
Wholly may I be resigned.
Lord, my Shield, my Light divine,
O accept and own me Thine!
7 Lord, to me Thine angel sending,
Keep me from the subtle Foe;
From his craft and might defending,
Never let Thy wanderer go,
Till my final rest shall come,
And Thine angel bear me home.
Since now the day has reached its close,
And sunlight shines no more,
In sleep the toil-worn find repose,
And all who wept before.
2 But Thou, my God, no rest dost know, No slumber dims Thy sight.
Thou hatest darkness as Thy foe,
For Thou Thyself art light.
3 O Lord, I pray remember me
Throughout the shades of night,
And grant to me most graciously
The shield of Thy great might.
4 Turn from me Satan's tyranny
Through many an angel-arm,
Then shall I be from danger free,
And safe from every harm.
5 I know the evil I have done
Doth cry aloud to Thee;
But yet the mercy of Thy Son
Hath full atoned for me.
6 Him I present Thee as my Bail,
While suppliant at Thy feet;
With such assurance I'll not fail
Before Thy judgment seat.
7 And therefore now I close my eyes,
And sleep with tranquil breast;
Why waste the time in fears or sighs?-
God watches o'er my rest.
8 Away, vain, idle thoughts, depart!
Roam not my soul abroad!
For now I build within my heart
A temple to my God.
9 Should this night prove the last for me In this dark vale of tears,
Then lead me, Lord, in heaven to Thee
And my elect compeers.
10 And thus I live and die to Thee, Thou Sabaoth strong, indeed! In life and death Thou helpest ine From every fear and need.
Commit whatever grieves thee
At heart, and all thy ways,
To Him who never leaves thee,
On whom creation stays.
Who freest courses maketh
For clouds, and air, and wind, And who care ever taketh
A path for thee to find.
2 The Lord thou must repose on
If thou wouldst prosper sure,
His work must ever gaze on
If thine is to endure.
By anxious care and grieving,
By self-consuming pain,
God is not moved to giving;
By prayer must thou obtain.
3 Thy grace that ever floweth,
O Father! what is good,
Or evil, ever knoweth,
To mortal flesh and blood.
What to Thine eye all-seeing,
And to Thy counsel wise
Seems good, doth into being,
O mighty Prince arise!
4 For means it fails Thee never,
Thou always findst a way,
Thy doing's blessing ever,
Thy path like brightest day.
Thy work can no one hinder,
Thy labor cannot rest,
If Thou design'st Thy tender
Children should all be blessed.
Though all the power of evil
Should rise up to resist,
Without a doubt or cavil
God never will desist;
His undertakings ever
At length He carries through;
What He designs He never
Can fail at all to do.
6 Hope on, thou heart, grief-riven,
Hope, and courageous be,
Where anguish thee had driven
Thou shalt deliverance see.
God, from Thy pit of sadness
Shall raise thee graciously;
Wait and the sun of gladness
Thine eyes shall early see.
7 Up! up! to pain and anguish
A long good night now say;
Drive all that makes thee languish
In grief and woe away.
Thine 'tis not to endeavor
The ruler's part to play,
God sits as ruler ever,
Guides all things well each day.
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